How Mumbai is Different from Other Cities

I have been fortunate to live in different cities of India and have a taste of different cultures. Just after completing my school, I happened to live in Delhi for a few years, switched to Trivendrum for a media course, and life took me to many other cities for various experiences. Let me share how Mumbai differentiated itself from all other cities.

When I came to Delhi in early 2000, the Delhi metro was not so popular. I had to commute to places either by bus or auto-rickshaws; both of these modes of transportation were notorious. The bus drivers used to rash drive the bus and those were the days when Blue Line bus drivers were famous for knocking off people on the road. No one would dare to challenge these drivers as the Delhi-ites hardly had any alternate for transportation. Nonetheless, the auto-rickshaw driver during those time were no less than goons who would extort money from other people because of the monopoly they enjoyed.

At present, whenever I go to Delhi, the scenario has changed a lot because of Uber, Ola, and many other cab services. I can ask the auto-drivers to turn on the meter and charge a fair price. Sometimes, they may refuse to go by the meter and ask for an arbitrary price.

In Trivedrum, the auto-rickshaw scene is quite messed up. They would switch on the meter, and it showed 45 INR for a short distance once. I handed over 100 INR to the driver, who returned 50 INR to me. I looked at him bewildered, he made strange face, shook his head, and ran off without saying a word. With time I realized that I cannot ask for the remaining amount from the auto driver after he rounds off the bill to the nearest 10.

In Chennai, I have had the worst experience with auto-rickshaw drivers who do not care to install any meter in their vehicle. They can ask for any amount they like for a short distance and be stubborn about it. The choice is on the passenger whether he wants to ride his auto-rickshaw or not. After paying hundreds of rupees to these notorious drivers, I decided to have Innova Self Drive for my road trip from Chennai.

The best is the attitude of Mumbai drivers. If the meter in the vehicle says 49 INR, I would hand over a 100 Rupee note to him, and he would return 51 INR exact change to me. Most of the drivers have it ingrained in their minds that they should be honest with their passengers. There have been many instances in the past when the drivers have returned precious gold jewelry and lakhs of rupees in cash to their passengers who forget their stuff in the auto-rickshaw.

The attitude of people in Mumbai impresses me every time I visit there. I don’t have to struggle with people for daily events such as commuting even though the city is heavily packed with people all the time. Until now, Delhi and Mumbai are my top favorite places to travel and stay whenever I get a chance to go to places.